Travel Tuesday: ECU Parent's Weekend

I don't know why it has taken me so long to tell everyone about my recent trip to North Carolina. It was just the weekend that I needed filled with best friends, family, and some Hokie Football. Really, it couldn't have been better!

It started with this...

I knew it was going to be a good weekend because the foam finger was involved. I'll have to share that story another time, but we planned on using said foam finger as a Flat Stanley the whole weekend. Plain failed when we realized that Miley Cyrus had ruined the appropriateness of foam fingers for all of us.

Thursday night I picked up my friend J at the train station and we headed back to my house to do some serious baking. We knew we had to leave super early the next morning, but we obviously still stayed up way too late cooking and catching up.

Friday morning the alarm went off at 5am (yikes) and we piled into the car with our pillow, blanket, and socks and got ready for the 9 hour drive. We watched Silver Linings Playbook and The Big Wedding, which was much much funnier than I had anticipated. However, what I was most looking forward to on the drive down was our lunch stop at Chick Fil A. When you live above the Mason Dixon line, it sure is a treat, and I planned on taking full advantage!

It. Was. Delicious.

We only had a little travel time left after lunch, and were so excited when we pulled into my brother's apartment complex that afternoon. It baffles me how cheap rent is in the south. I could literally rent his entire apartment for the price of renting one bedroom with a shared bathroom in New England. Anyway.. we shortly left my brother and went to pick up weekend supplies. Walmart in the South never ceases to amaze me.

Pickled Eggs, anyone?

When we finally got everything together, we checked into our hotel. As we were unloading the car, J and I got the best surprise of the day... The Virginia Tech Football Team was staying at our hotel. I would be sleeping under the same roof as Frank Beamer, Logan Thomas, and those fabulous Fuller boys. There may have been more than a few shrieks of excitement (and maybe a few tears... it had been a long day...) as we watched the busses pull in.

After making friends with the bus drivers in the hotel lobby, we headed up to the room to shower, wait for our other friend to arrive, and get ready for dinner. We ended up eating at the Carolina Ale House in Greenville. The food was delicious, but the service was absolutely awful. We didn't have to wait very long for a table, but once we were inside, we waited almost an hour for our food. Our waitress never checked on us to make sure that our drinks were filled, or see if we needed anything else. We had all ordered Flatbread Pizzas, and Burgers, so it's not like any of us ordered anything fancy or complex. I would definitely not recommend it if you are starving like we were, because the food takes forever!

After dinner, we headed back to my brother's frat house for a few drinks. I learned a few things about myself;

1. I am not 21 anymore. My 25 year old body cannot handle alcohol like it used to.

2. Frat parties are a little ridiculous, but my parents can still hang better than I can. And, the other parents that were at the party can also hang way better than me...

3. Freshman girls barely wear clothes. And they wear lanyards. Has no one taught them that lanyards do not belong around your neck? Poor kids...

It was great to catch up with friends, and see some of our favorite people from home. K and L drove over from Virginia Tech to spend the weekend with us, and we had a blast. Probably a little too much fun on Friday night, but thats okay, I don't do it every weekend, right?

When the party got too loud, we headed back to the hotel. We had to be up in a few hours, and I needed as much sleep as I could get.

When we got up the next morning and headed down to breakfast, I knew that a little hair of the dog was the only way to get past how my head and belly felt, so we packed our supplies and got ready to tailgate.

After the cooler was packed, we looked out the window and noticed that the Hokie team was casually hanging out by the pool. 

I die. I'm not a stalker, I swear!

We got to the tailgate, we didn't waste any time. It was great to finally meet all of my brother's friends and one of their girlfriend's was even a Chi O and let us tour their house on campus. It was adorable and it made me super jealous that at VT we don't have real-stand-alone houses to make all our own. I would have killed to live in a house like that!

We finished tailgating and headed to the game. It wasn't super awesome to be on the boring alumni side of the stadium, especially since we were surrounded almost completely by ECU fans, but it was great to finally see a Hokie football game live for the first time in a few years. Some differences between Lane Stadium and Dowdy Ficklen Stadium;

1. Virginia Tech Fans were louder than ECU fans in ECU's stadium. At Lane Stadium, we would never let the visiting team be louder than us. It is just not possible.

2. We missed the entrance of the team. The stadium was still half empty when the team took the field. I would get to Lane Stadium a half hour early to be sure that the seats were filled and I was ready to jump when Enter Sandman came blaring through the speakers.

3. The student section was not full. How does that even happen? Especially on Parent's weekend?

It was a long game, but my Hokies pulled out the W in the end. By the time the game was over, I was beyond sunburnt, exhausted, a little hungover, and starving. We hadn't eaten since 7am and it was now almost 3pm and I needed food. After a 2 mile walk to Sheetz, a delicious sandwich, and too many bottles of water to count, we went back to the hotel to shower and get refreshed for dinner at the Frat house. Everyone was exhausted, but the night was perfect for hanging on the deck and eating delicious food. We called it a night pretty early, and headed back to the hotel. I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I had to keep reminding myself that I am, in fact, not in college any more. We got another early start on the road on Sunday, but I have to admit that I slept for a good portion of the trip.

If anything, this trip made me more excited to visit Virginia Tech in the spring. I am making it a point to get there (hopefully for spring game) to visit the place that I love so much!

Tropical Tuesday: Dune Buggy in the Desert?

Thursday on our tropical vacation, Dad, Corbin and I headed out bright and early for a long ride to Cap Cana from our resort. We piled into that open air van again (I was prepared this time with extra water, some bagels from breakfast, and a fully charged camera), and headed out for the long journey.

Now, there was one huge significant difference between our first open air journey, and this one. When we went zip lining, most of the roads were back roads. Yes, they were uneven, but totally manageable. This time, we were on main roads. I learned one fact: The Dominicans are HUGE fans of speed bumps. These open air vans have no shocks. Nada. Literally were airborne, butts landed HARD on unpadded seats. It was not a pleasant experience. Luckily, by the time we were on our way home, we were so exhausted that we didn't care anymore.

Anyway.

After about an hour and a half drive, we arrived in Cap Cana. There were first world amenities, and no spiders in the bathroom. I'd say that is a win-win situation. We went through a brief safety and instruction course (in English, Spanish, French, and Italian), and headed out to pick our buggys.

It was a blessing in disguise that the morning started out pretty cloudy. None of us had applied sunscreen, and so the shade was a much needed relief.

The boys were obviously so excited to be there so early.

Once we headed out on the buggys (Corbin and I in one, Dad in the other), we learned that Corbin should have remembered his sunglasses. We were driving through sand and dirt, and at one point, I looked over at Corbin driving and there were literally sandcastles on his eyelashes. I don't even know how he was driving because even with my oversized diva glasses, I could barely keep my eyes open.

HI DAD!

After a few miles, we arrived at the most beautiful beach in the entire world. Water crystal clear, and the whitest sand I've ever seen.

We were allotted about a half hour to swim, and enjoy the beach. We had a snack, some water, and were ready to hit the road again! This time, we drove from the beach to this beautiful cave. On the way, we loved seeing cell phone towers disguised as palm trees. Around New York, those tricky cell phone companies try to disguise them as pine trees.

We arrived at our second destination, Hoya Azul.

After a short hike, we emerged in a cave with a swimming hole. The water was so blue. You could see the entire way to the bottom, which was 41 feet deep. The water was freezing, but after the sun had come out, and I was covered in sweat and dirt, jumping into that icy cold water felt incredible.

Normally, I am not even close to being happy about swimming in non-manmade bodies of water, but this trip was full of exceptions. I knew I would be miserable sitting in my wet bathing suit the entire way back to the meeting spot, and then again the whole way back to the resort, but I didn't care. When else was I going to be swimming in a gorgeous place like this? Corbin and I even broke out our 90's waterproof disposable camera and snapped some fun shots under the water. I can't wait to get those developed...

After much swimming time, we hiked back to our buggys and drove back to the main part of Cap Cana. They were selling American snacks and bottled water, and I can't remember the last time I was more excited to eat a bag of goldfish.

The ride back to the resort was just as bumpy as the ride there, but like I said, we were so exhausted that we couldn't be bothered with the bumps. We got back to the resort mid-afternoon, had a quick lunch after meeting up with Mom, and then headed to the pool for the rest of the day to nap and enjoy our last 36 hours of sunshine.

If you are ever in Punta Cana, I highly recommend Cap Cana tours. Honestly, it was one of the most incredible days of my life, and I would absolutely do it again if I had the choice!

Blisters, Sunburn, and Delicious Food.

I didn't mean to wait until Thursday to post my trip recap, but getting back into the groove of things after a weekend away has proved to be much more difficult than I thought. While I had a fabulous time in DC this weekend, I am certainly still exhausted and am looking forward to having today off!

Friday morning we set off for NYC! We hopped on a commuter train and made our way to Penn Station to catch our Amtrak train to DC. I had never traveled via Amtrak before and have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. While Penn Station isn't the nicest of facilities, the train was a whole different story. The wide seats were MUCH more comfortable than any airline I've ever flown on, and the free wifi and multiple outlets at each seat made this trip more than bearable. The 3 1/2 ride flew by, and before I knew it, we were meeting my little (sorority) sister at Union Station. Thankfully, she was there to walk us through using the Metro, and getting us to our hotel (we stayed at the Crowne Plaza (Hamilton Hotel) which was absolutely amazing!!). We checked in and didn't waste a minute before heading out to sight see.

Before dinner on Friday we stopped by the White House;

And Ford's Theatre;

And finally met up with other friends at Matchbox in Chinatown. We ordered fruity cocktails and spent a few hours catching up and enjoying each other's company with delicious pizza. I had a yummy chicken pesto and mozzarella pizza which I still cannot stop thinking about. Being from New York I consider myself quite the pizza snob -- and this far surpassed anything I've ever had!

We stopped for ice cream before heading back to our hotel. We knew that we needed to get a good night's sleep since we had a full day ahead of us on Saturday.

That morning, we started off the day with iced coffee (thankfully there was a Starbucks conveniently located in our hotel lobby) and our first solo trip on the Metro. From the station, over the course of the day, we walked 7.3 miles, and (after forgetting to put on the sunscreen I purchased the night before) I ended the day with sunburns and blisters ALL OVER my feet.

We started off at the Lincoln Memorial;

Headed to the World War II Memorial;

And over to the Jefferson Memorial, and then uptown to meet my (sorority) big sister for lunch! Our concierge had recommended a place called Wicked Waffle on I street. He had us hooked when he mentioned that all of the sandwiches were served on Belgian Waffles. Um, hello, that is amazing! I hadn't seen my big in f.o.r.e.v.e.r (like 3ish years), and it was beyond fabulous to catch up! The three of us then walked to the Air and Space Museum to wander around there for a while. We were all exhausted, hot, and sunburnt (well, I was), so after only about an hour we called it a day.

(You can start to see the redness of my sunburn. What you can't see, is the burn where my cross body bag was. It's a real cute burn line now...)

We were exhausted, and really just needed a nap here...

P and I headed back to our hotel for a much needed nap before dinner. I of course also needed a shower and some aloe. Later that evening we headed to DuPont Circle for dinner at Front Page Grille. The five of us had a great time eating, drinking, and enjoying the awesome throwback 90's music that played over the speakers. The food and drinks were both very reasonable (especially for a restaurant in a big city) and the atmosphere was great.

I love just these girls!!!

We went to another bar, and by 1:30 I was exhausted. P and I walked my little to the Metro and then passed out. I don't think my head had hit the pillow before I was asleep. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was sunburnt, my feet were blistered, and I was just kind of cranky. I'm sure P can attest to the fact that I wasn't super pleasant all day, but I still did have a great day with him.

We started off going to brunch at The Tombs in Georgetown. I don't think that I was ready for the long walk, the humidity, or the hills, but doing all that walking certainly left me feeling better about my decision to have Eggs Benedict for my meal. Since it was raining when we were finished, we took a cab to the Zoo and wandered around for a few hours before realizing that I was tired and cranky and needed a nap. The weather wasn't cooperating too much, so I don't think either one of us was too upset to head back to the hotel and nap before dinner.

When we woke up from our naps, it was a total downpour out, and we sprinted through the rain to Maddy's Bar and Grille for a quick dinner. It was early to bed since we had an early Amtrak train on Monday morning. We got back to the city and jumped on a train back to my house so that I could make it to work on time.

The weekend was utterly fabulous, and I definitely would love to go back and visit soon!

Where are your favorite places in DC?

I Fell In Love With Colorado.

I'm back! I'm back! I'm back! After what seems like the longest travel day in the world, I'm back in New York and ready to face the next few weeks.

Last Thursday, my family packed up and shipped out to Colorado. My brother and I had never been, and I don't think that we could have prepared ourselves for what an incredible trip it would be.

It all started at LaGuardia Airport where we saw Eric Trump as we waited to go through security. Pretty dang awesome, eh? After two flights, not enough sleep, and reuniting with Popop, we picked up our rental car and headed West towards my cousins' house.

Driving through the Rocky Mountains was hands down the most beautiful road trip I have ever been on. The snow capped mountains were perfection. Seriously, I'm obsessed.

Rockies in the distance.

About two hours later, we arrived at the hotel that my parents were staying at with Popop. I just could not get enough of the views -- can you just imagine waking up every day and seeing this out your window?

We met up with my cousin who I haven't seen in years, and headed to dinner at a local brewery. I highly recommend Gore Range Brewery if you are ever in the Edwards area -- the food was delicious, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed their various beers very much. They also had ample variety of sports on TV. My brother was super excited (at the beginning) to see that they had the Rangers game on!

My cousin's wife met up with us and brought the babies (my two new favorites, they're perfect) and Popop got to meet his Great-Grandchildren for the first time! It was something I will never forget and will forever be thankful for being part of it!

All of us were pretty tired after dinner, so we went to see my cousin's house, and play with the babies a little bit before bed. My brother and I were staying with them, so we dropped our stuff and jumped into our pajamas real quick.

Popop holding little Evan for the first time

Evan would not let that hat stay on Corbin's head the entire weekend.

Thanks to the time change, we were up early on Friday ready to tackle the day. The boys went out to grab coffee while me and Shannon happily caught up on our lives. When they got back, we packed up the kids and went to the diner for breakfast at the Eagle Diner. My lord, it is a LOT of work to get two kids out the door!! After breakfast, Shannon and I ran to the grocery store to get some food for a picnic lunch that we were going to have at Sylvan Lake State Park.

Now, let's talk about some amazing scenery.

Is this real life? Doesn't that look PAINTED on there? This doesn't even do it justice.

No cell phone service. Lots of family. Delicious food. Gorgeous weather. Seriously, I still can't describe how incredible it was to stand there and take it all in.

In the late afternoon, we headed back to the house and took naps. I just love naps. That evening we headed to Vail for dinner and bowling at bol. It was a high-end bowling alley with specialty cocktails, delicious food, and a great atmosphere for bowling. Popop had not been bowling in 40 years, so this was definitely something fun to do with him!

Me, Shannon and Char!

Super stylish bowling attire.

Someone left out the mayo and Charlotte decided that eating it using a french fry as a spoon would be just a fabulous idea!

After dinner and two rounds of bowling (neither of which I completely bombed.. YAY!) we took a stroll around Vail to look at the shops. That town is adorable. The cobblestone streets, little boutiques, fancy restaurants, and gorgeous scenery is enough to make me want to stay forever. As we were walking back to the car, we even saw a white tailed fox trotting through the center of town. I wish it had been light outside so I could have snapped some pictures! I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be during Christmastime with the snow falling and the decorations up. I could absolutely picture myself living there someday (you know, when I win the lottery and learn to ski).

Saturday we kept everything low key. We hung around the house, did a little food shopping, and cooked on the grill for dinner. The boys went for a LONG walk while I got to spend lots of quality time with the babies!

Char and her pretty little pony. Complete with a song that will be stuck in our heads for the next month.

She would only drink out of Popop's "big boy" glass

And she decided that she needed to do some light housework.

While Evan stocked the fridge with beer.

We grilled chicken and steak and had a super low key night. The parentals went back to their hotel fairly early and the rest of us had fun with margaritas, ski goggles, and winter hats. If ONLY I had those pictures on my phone...

Sunday morning we were up early and out the door to go to Aspen for the morning. The hour and a half drive through the canyons was even more incredible than the drive through the Rockies to get to Eagle. I still cannot get over how beautiful this state is!

We drove through what seemed like 4 different seasons to get there, but when we finally arrived in Aspen, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect! Since it is the off-season, most of the shops and restaurants were closed, but we did manage to sneak into a little log-cabin restaurant for lunch. Little Annie's had a wide variety of sandwiches, soups, and burgers. It had something for everyone, and we all enjoyed our meals. After lunch, we did a little more walking around, and even scooped up a few souvenirs.

Downtown Aspen.

We finally saw the "wildlife"

We all napped on the way back to Eagle, and when we got back, we started dinner, had some cocktails, played some Catch Phrase, and took more pictures.

We all called it an early night since we had to leave bright and early for the airport on Monday. I was certainly not ready to leave, and I made a promise to myself to get out there again soon!